


Holding Laughter

by CyberSearcher



Series: Various Technoshipping Works [5]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: <3, Domestic Fluff, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Save Echo 2020, Wholesome, blame discord, just fluff, this will rot your teeth, yall are the worst & best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24174847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyberSearcher/pseuds/CyberSearcher
Summary: Zane, Jay and Echo return to the mainland. Some questions arise and new people are met, but it isn't enough to ruin a perfect afternoon.
Relationships: Cole & Jay Walker, Cole (Ninjago)/Original Character(s), Echo Zane & Zane (Ninjago), Jay Walker/Zane, spacerockshipping, technoshipping - Relationship
Series: Various Technoshipping Works [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1711813
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	Holding Laughter

**Author's Note:**

> This thing is just a mess of in-jokes, but don't worry, there's plenty of wholesome Techno for you if you're here for that.
> 
> Massive, massive shoutouts to the No Braincell Gang on Discord. You all know who you are. Our OC squad (henceforth known as the Gucci Gang) makes their first cameo here. Ven gets double servings since both his OC and his AU Jay make cameos too. Love all of ya. 
> 
> This is super late-ish, but I hope this makes you smile at least. Happy B-day to Ven, may your cookies always be crunchy and chocolaty and your cats stop stealing your pencils.

Riding back, Jay realized just how much he hadn’t thought through this. 

Echo was happily seated behind his brothers. He hadn’t stopped grinning at everything as they flew. Seagulls, the patterns of waves, at one point he even saw a pod of whales. Zane happily explained what each of the things they passed were. 

Jay wondered how they’d manage the younger - older? - nindroid once they were actually in a city. 

That though just summoned more questions; What would Echo wear? What if the others saw them? How would his parents react? Would they even let him stay with them? What if one of Echo’s legs fell off as they flew? Or something hit them and knocked them off their dragon? 

Zane saw Jay’s dragon flicker out of the corner of his eye. He carefully nudged the master of lighting with his wingtip. 

“We are almost to the mainland.” He said. “We could land near the beaches, do you need a moment?” 

“Yea, yea definitely. Maybe several moments.” 

Echo’s excited gasp did make him smile. “Brother! What are those? They are massive! Are they trees?” 

“No, they are called skyscrapers. It’s one of the many places people live in.”

“Can people live in trees?” 

“I think so, but I’ve yet to meet anyone who does.” 

“Could I live in a tree?” 

Jay saw a sad smile form on Zane’s face. “Living within a tree is rather cozy, but it does get cramped after a while. Finding one of sufficient size is hard too.” 

“Oh.” 

“Hey, don’t sweat it Echo.” Jay piped. “You’ll get a place to live. I mean, if you can tolerate living with my parents in a dump.” 

Part of him worried what the nindroid would think of being around so much broken machinery, if it would draw up negative feelings about himself. Jay physically shook his head and just focused on landing. 

Thankfully, the Bounty wasn’t close by so sneaking in on two massive elemental dragons was easier. There was a short outcropping of rocks that hid them as they landed. 

Echo jumped off the saddle and immediately dug his hands into the sand. “Is this dirt?” 

“It’s called sand.” Zane knelt by his side. “Please be careful, I don’t want it getting caught in your gears.” 

Jay scanned the beachfront and quickly spotted a tourist booth selling tie dye shirts, cargo shorts and beach towels. He frowned, but he couldn’t be too picky. 

“Hey,” he called to the two nindroid, “I’m gonna go grab some stuff for you to wear Echo. People uh, don’t really… react well to new things. No offence I mean, but, yea. I’ll be back in a sec.” 

Jay hastily dropped some of his armour and the more obvious ninja garb. Zane nodded respectfully and continued to kneel by his brothers side. Echo had a small pile of rocks, seashells and beach glass at his feet.

“What are people like?”

“Hmm, I cannot give a sufficient answer to that question.” Zane mused. “People are as varied as there are clouds in the sky.”

“Then what kind of clouds are they like?”

He tapped at his chin for a moment. Echo was making something in the sand, another collage, he thought. 

“There are some who are like storm clouds, very loud and scary. But there are also some who are the soft kind that come after rain. There are those who blend in with a crowd and there are those whose shape is distinct. There are many more who you cannot define after watching them for hours.” 

“What kind of cloud is Jay like?” 

Zane’s eyes grew brighter. “Jay… I would say he is the sort of cloud you’d see right before it rains. It is large, fluffy, but you can see the shadows underneath that tell you there is more to see. Once it finally rains, it is refreshing to stand under. Calm, but also messy. It is nice.”

Echo leaned forward, face still eager to hear more. “What kind of cloud do you think you are?”

“Ah. I actually do not know.” He confessed. “Perhaps you could tell me? What do you think?” 

The bronze nindroid tapped his fingers on his thighs, head tipped up to the sky. 

“I think you are not a cloud. You are more like the sky.”

“Really? How so?”

“I think you are always present, even if you can’t be seen. You are very bright and very warm. And I think… you are always good to see. It is is nice to look up to you. I am happy to see you.” 

Zane’s smile turned soft and he had to brush away the frost at his eyes. “That is very sweet brother, very sweet.” 

“Thank you!” Echo grinned. He pointed down to the collage in the sand. “I tried to make you and Jay.” 

The silver nindroid carefully shuffled over to look at the picture. He found it surprising how abstract Echo had made it. Clouds he could see were made of small white shells, but the shape of both ninja were more indistinct. 

Pale blue and smooth grey pebbles intertwined in the sky, with dark seaweed forming what looked to be the shape of their dragons. Between them both was a small penny. Zane couldn’t say he understood what it meant entirely, but he was proud of his little brother.

They continued their talks about people, comparing them to stones and waves. Once Jay returned with a set of new clothes, he had absolutely no clue what the two nindroids were talking about.

“But I would say cities tend to have more storm clouds. Or perhaps stratus.” Zane said.

“Do you think that it’s harder to be a Cumulus in the cities?”  


“I would say so.”

“Are you guys talking about weather?” Jay quietly asked. 

“No, we are discussing people!” Echo said enthusiastically. 

“O-kay?” He didn’t question it and he had a feeling Zane would only give him a cryptic answer just to keep screwing with him. “Anyways, here, hope these fit but I figured you’re more or less the same size.”

He passed one of the rainbow tie-dye shirts, some pants, a cap and stuffed the rest into a beach bag with different sea animals printed on it. It took a moment of explaining from them both for Echo to understand where to stick his arms and legs. At one point, they realized he had the shirt on backwards. 

Once Echo had the clothes on proper, he was still grinning like a child. He looked down at his shirt and kept asking them what the names of each colour was. Jay eventually couldn’t give specifics and just started called them ‘mostly blue purple’ or ‘red with a lick of green and orange’. 

They made their way into the city, with Zane and Jay constantly having to check where the excited nindroid was going. He would run up to shopfronts and cafes, sticking his nose to the window and asking if they could go inside. 

“Uh, sorry. Maybe after we get you a cloaking device like your bro.” Jay said. “Wait, can you taste things too?”

“Oh yes, the storm clouds. I forgot.” He murmured sadly, but quickly perked up. “And I don’t know! Sand did not taste like anything, it felt funny in my mouth. Seaweed always got stuck between my teeth too.”

Jay didn’t know what to say to that. But he couldn’t judge. “Hey Zane, it’s almost lunch anyways. Wanna grab something to eat? There’s a Chen's Noodles around here.” 

“That would be nice. But perhaps somewhere less enclosed. There are some street vendors around the parks.” 

“Oh, right, yea that works a lot better.” He quickly nodded. It made sense anyways, since Echo spent so much time indoors anyways.

The bronze nindroid didn’t stop flitting between all the different stalls and open markets surrounding Ninjago City Center. Thankfully, none of the other customers realized Echo was a nindroid. On their way to a small hotdog stand by the park, Echo stopped by a shop that sold several different tourist trinkets.

Jay thumbed at the cards of mountains and beaches. He wondered if they could spare the time for them to take Echo some place like this. Zane quietly stepped behind him, resting his chin on his shoulder and wrapping his arms around his waist. 

“What’s on your mind?” He asked. 

“Just… everything I guess. I still gotta call mom and dad if Echo can stay with them. And what if the others realize you’re gone visiting him? How are we gonna get him new parts? If we talk to Cyrus then Pixal might overhear him or she could get suspicious and just ask him.” 

Zane nuzzled against his freckles. “I know that your parents are kind people, they would be willing to house my brother. We can fix him gradually, it will not be a one day procedure. And I trust Cyrus to keep this private.”

“Yea, I guess.” 

Jay set down the cards. “I guess I’m just being paranoid again, huh?”

“No, I don’t think so. You are simply worried for the future. There is nothing odd about that.” Zane gave a quick kiss to his cheek. “I just encourage you to live within the present. Enjoy what is around you now.” 

“What did I do to deserve you, Flurry?” 

“Being you, little rain cloud.”

Jay gave a mock pout. “What happened to thundercloud?”

“You are far too sweet to be a thundercloud.” 

The nindroid smirked and for good measure, pressed another kiss to his flustered face. 

Behind them, they heard a crash.

The two broke off and spun, only to see Echo sitting in a tangled pile of kites and lanterns. A very upset woman was looming over him, almost as red as Jay but for a far different reason.

“Where are your parents? Who let this child wander around unsupervised?” She cried. Several customers turned their heads.

Echo tried to untangle himself, but several of the kite tails were caught in his fingers. “I am sorry. I hope I did not hurt you.”

“You could have! Didn’t your father teach you manners!”

Jay frowned hard and stormed past Zane. “Hey! Pasty bog jogger!” 

The woman turned up to the smaller teen. Zane quickly helped his brother off the floor. 

“Excuse me? Are you the guardian of that boy? I’d like to have a word with you.” 

“Shut up Karen.” Jay rolled his eyes. “He wasn’t gonna spill lipstick over your valentino bag. Just leave him alone. Balding vulture.” 

She looked so red, Zane could almost see steam coming out of her ears. He stood between them. “Please, there is no need to fight. Like my partner said, we do not mean trouble. We were just leaving.” 

“Hmp, good.” She turned up her nose and strutted away with a false superior air. Jay let a small bolt of strong static jump from his hand to her ass. 

She yelped, but Jay wasn’t looking at her. Her angry expression returned but this time Zane just glared at her and shook his head. Thankfully, she didn’t return. 

Zane sighed. “Echo, are you hurt?”

“I am well.” He said. “I hope she doesn’t remain a storm cloud. That would be sad.” 

“Perhaps she is just a storm cloud.” Zane said morose. 

“I do not know. Still, I hope she feels happier later.” 

“God damn Karens.” Jay mumbled, helping to reorganize the fallen kites. 

“What is a Karen?” 

The freckled teen was grinning again. “Oh, just you wait grasshopper. You’ll learn.” 

The shopkeeper was kind enough not to make as much of a fuss about the fallen display. But as they left, Zane realized that Echo was still holding on to one of the kites. A paper dragon with red and orange streamers pouring out of its mouth.

“Echo you need to return that.” 

He leaned down to inspect the kite, then back up to Zane. “Why?”

“Because you did not pay for it. It is not right to take things without payment.”  


“Why?”

His eyes were bright, filled with pure curiosity. Jay shook his head. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, I’m sure it won’t cost much.” 

Quickly running back to properly buy the kite, Echo listened as Zane explained more of the finer details about city life and civilization. Good thing too, since they had to stop the bronze Nindroid from running into traffic once he saw the park across the street.

They waited by the light, with Echo asking more questions about how to fly a kite. Zane’s eyes scanned the area, then he froze once he caught sight of a familiar head of raven hair. There was also someone else, a boy at least a foot shorter with hair as messy as Kai's. But shorter and coloured like Jay’s, dressed in simple black jeans and purple t-shirt.

Zane hurriedly pulled Echo behind a building and grabbed a newspaper. Jay opened his mouth to complain, then shut it once he caught sight of Cole. 

“Crap, uh, just keep this up over your face.” He urged the nindroid. “And try to stay quiet, okay?”

Echo leaned toward the paper, then smiled. “Okay.” 

Cole must’ve noticed him too. The earth ninja stopped in the middle of the street, playing with the hairs at the back of his head. The teen beside him froze, shoulders hiking up. Both the freckled teen and the nindroid realized who it was.

“Haru!” Jay called out. Running over, he greeted the other with a high five which he quietly reciprocated. 

“Hey.” He smiled. “Nice seeing you guys again, how’s the search for Master Wu been? I hear it’s been rough.” 

“Eh, you win some battles, you lose a master. But what about you two happy space rocks?” 

Haru pressed his arms tighter at his sides while Cole coughed. Both failed to hide their blushing. 

“We’re alright.” Cole muttered. “Actually, I was just gonna show Stary here this really great cafe. They’ve got this amazing wonton noodle soup with rice noodles and beef. Oh! And their coffee is just the best!”

“Damn, and here I was settling for street food.” Jay playfully elbowed Zane. “But at least I don’t have to pay for my next dinner.”

Haru bit his lip before speaking up. Zane saw the smaller teen glance at him. 

“Well, at least my boyfriend is prime cuddle material, not a fridge.” 

Both Cole and Jay snorted out a laugh. Zane smiled warmly at Haru, making sure to let the anxious teen know there were no hard feelings. 

“Speaking of all this food, maybe we could make it a double date?” Cole offered, looking down at the smaller teen fondly. “It’d be nice to catch up. You said you’re bunking with some new roommates?”

Haru actually rolled his eyes. “Oh yea, uh, they’re… they’re something.”

“Weren’t they with you a few minutes ago?” Cole mused.

A loud scream suddenly ripped through the air, followed by the crash of metal. All four ninja jumped to their feet. Zane scanned for where the source was, then blinked. 

Just a few feet across the street was a group of five teens dressed in purples and yellows. All standing around a vending machine. Two were on the ground; a girl with brown hair and a black jacket and a tanned, freckled boy with bright, golden coloured hair.

“Okay, okay new plan. Lin you climb on top and blow air down and they’ll come shooting out the bottom.” Said the girl. 

The boy stood and rubbed his head. “Are you sure that is how they work?” 

“Using you as a battering ram didn’t.” Another girl with a bushy ponytail shrugged. 

One stood near the back of the group, sipping at a drink slowly. “I guess it’s worth a shot.” 

“Where’s Haru when you need him?” The girl in the black jacket still sat on the ground. Her gaze wandered the street until it landed on the teen. “Oh, hey! Come help us out! This thing’s bein’ a bitch again and we need those Doritos!”

Zane realized with a start that one of her eyes was a mechanical red. Haru just groaned and yelled back. “Can’t you just grab them!”

“I guess, but what about the ones where you can’t see! I don’t wanna stick my head in that far!” 

Jay, Zane and Cole just stared at Haru in confusion. 

“I assume those are your roommates?” Zane asked, refraining from asking the poor teen severn questions at once.

“Y-yea.” He confessed, then yelled back. “Look, just don’t let Aries try hacking them again! And don’t try to use Leyton! Or Lin! Just gimme a sec. Sorry Cole.”

“Don’t be, I wanna watch this.” He said with a grin. 

Haru gave a tired smile and squeezed the taller teen’s side in a half hug. “Thanks, I’ll need it.”

Both of them ran across the street, leaving Jay and Zane very, very lost. The freckled teen was the first to shake off his confusion. “Crap, Echo? It’s safe to lower the newspaper.”

“Oh?” The nindroid was standing right where he was left. “Were those people more storm clouds? Or were they your cumulus clouds?” 

Zane grinned and nodded. “Cole is certainly a cumulus.” 

“Alright, you guys are explaining this after we get some quality junk food.” Jay proclaimed, slinging an arm over both nindroids shoulders.

::::

Zane sighed happily, Echo and Jay were happily munching away at cotton candy and hotdogs from a vendor. He considered buying some bird feed for the local pigeons. But they’d probably mistake him for a statue. 

“Hey Echo, wanna learn how to fly a kite?” Jay asked through a mouthful of sugar. 

“These can fly!” The nindroid said excitedly. He threw the dragon into the wind before Jay could stop him. It caught the breeze well and quickly flew out of their grasp. 

Jay was already dropping his snack and bolting after it. 

“Crap!” 

Echo looked to Zane for a moment. “Go ahead, please just stay in my line of sight and stick close to Jay.”

The bronze nindroid broke out into a smile, pulled Zane in for a tight hug, then sprinted off after Jay. Zane just laughed as he watched the two try to brainstorm how to get the now stuck kite out of a tree. 

He found his gaze wandering to the skyline, naming off clouds that reminded him of his friends. Then he saw what looked like the bow of the Bounty, peeking out from behind a building.  
The nindroid saw someone leaning over the side. He could see red curls, blue cloth and what looked like a black patch over one eye. Zane tried to zoom further in to see who was staring down at them. 

He didn’t believe who it was, Jay was standing right infront of him. The figure ducked behind the rail and through what looked like a seam through the sky, the Bounty was gone.

“Strange.”

“Hm? What was it brother?” Echo asked. 

“Nothing.” Zane shrugged. “I think it was just my imagination.”

Beside him, Jay suddenly had a pinched expression. “Anyone else getting a weird deja vu?”

“No.”

The bronze android poked at his chest. “I do feel a little weird.”

“Eh, probably just the cotton candy.” Jay dismissed in between panting breaths. “Anyways, who wants to fly this bitch?” 

“I thought it was a dragon?” Echo leaned into the kite in his hands. “What is a bitch?” 

Zane cuffed Jay on the back of the head. The freckled teel cried out dramatically. “Betrayal!” 

“You’re the one teaching my brother to curse.”

“Still, how could you?”

He just rolled his eyes and kissed his cheek. “Better?”

“Mh, for now.” 

“Don’t try to ask for more with Echo right in front of us.” 

Jay blushed. Echo looked to the titanium nindroid for an explanation. 

“Nevermind him, come. I have never flown a kite before either. It will be good to learn with you.”

“Do you think we may learn more together?”

“Of course we will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Some time this or next week, I get to flex for my friends and show off a new ship/AU they made. Featuring my newest OTP; Articshipping.
> 
> Bet 20 cookies ya'll won't be able to guess it. Hint; what do you get when you mix pirates with a cold ruler? 
> 
> And no, if you're in the discord you don't get to guess.


End file.
